Oct. 5, 2011

View the Tewksbury Patch story

If Tewksbury's Jane Hatzikonstantis hadn't walked right in and taken over the starting goalkeeper's job at the UMass Lowell this fall, it may not have been such a big deal.

After all, Hatzikonstantis had learned the virtues of patience during her first three years at Central Catholic High School, when she sat patiently on the bench behind Central Catholic superstar goaltender Lauren Houle.

A year ago, though, with Houle graduated and playing at St. Anselm's, Hatzikonstantis made the most of her opportunities when she latched on to Central's starting goal keeper job and led the CCHS girls soccer team to the 2010 Division 1 state championship.

Hatzikonstantis described winning the high school state championship last fall as "a dream come true," and that dream has continued right into this season, as Hatzikonstantis has burst onto the Northeast-10 soccer scene by recording an amazing five straight shut outs in the UMass Lowell nets.

The freshman keeper has led the River Hawks to a 5-2-2 overall record so far this season, running up a total of 470 straight minutes without allowing a single goal so far.

"It's been amazing so far," Hatzikonstantis said. "Every night before I go to bed I give myself a little pinch just to make sure I'm not dreaming."

In spite of her success, Hatzikonstantis is splitting time with sophomore keeper Jill Carlson of Lexington, but all five of UML's wins so far have come by shut out, all with Hatzikonstantis in net.

"Jane is off to a great start," said UMass-Lowell head coach Elie Monteiro. "We've always loved her size and her shot blocking abilities. She's got a good presence in the goal. You look for those things from the high school goalkeepers, and you hope they translate into college."

For her part, Hatzikonstantis isn't all that surprised that her skills did translate so well.

"My club team (Seacoast United) got me really ready to play in college," she said. "Obviously there are still some things I have to work on like crosses and distribution, but I think I was basically ready for the next level when I got here."

Having an experienced, skilled defensive front four looking after her helps a lot, too, according to Hatzikonstantis.

"I've got a great defense in front of me," she said. "I've made a couple mistakes already but they've been right there for me. Every one of these shut outs has been kind of like a team shut out. We all work together to get the shut out."

In spite of Hatzikonstantis' flawless record so far, Monteiro still plans on rotating her with Carlson, every other game.

"They're giving me some sleepless nights," Monteiro said. "I really expected one of them to stand out over the other, but it hasn't happened. They're really pushing each other. Both of them have work rates that need to be rewarded, and both of them have qualities that deserve to be on the field."

If things keep going the way they have for Hatzikonstantis, however, Monteiro will have a hard time ignoring all those zeroes.

"Jane has played no small part in our success," Monteiro said. "She's got a good presence about her and a good pair of hands. She's a tremendous shot stopper with very good reflexes, and she works extra hard."

Hatzikonstantis, who was also recruited by Quinnipiac College and So. Connecticut State University, is happy she decided to stay close to home and play for Monteiro.

"Winning the state championship last year was awesome, but this is pretty awesome, too," Hatzikonstantis said. "I guess I'm doing something right, but I don't know. It couldn't be going any better so far, though."